


Shaped Like a Circle

by recrudescence



Category: Firefly
Genre: Community: fandom_stocking, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-10
Updated: 2011-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-14 15:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/150894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recrudescence/pseuds/recrudescence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inara's never been snooty about her Companion status, but sometimes she makes Kaylee feel rough and clumsy by comparison anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shaped Like a Circle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [casper_san](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=casper_san).



It's on the tip of Kaylee's tongue to insist that hot weather doesn't mean it's okay to be wearing things anyone with half a half-blind eye can see right through. Catching sight of Inara out and about in anything less formal than a robe isn't something that happens all that often. Maybe she figured it was so late she could slip down to the galley without anybody noticing. Maybe it's just too damn hot to sleep with the cooling system acting up like it's been. Serenity still has a lot of damages to overcome after surviving Miranda.

Kaylee sips her tea and tries to act like she isn't covered in sweat and grease. Inara's never been snooty about her Companion status, but sometimes she makes Kaylee feel rough and clumsy by comparison anyway. “Hi there.”

Inara nods and helps herself to the kettle. Kaylee's grateful that at least the stove hasn't suffered any damage. “How is everything coming along?”

“Had to fiddle with the ventilation a little in order to fix a couple things and I'm havin' some trouble getting it going again.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Kaylee laughs, “Not dressed like that,” and immediately regrets it. The captain said Inara left a few things behind, so maybe she just plain doesn't _have_ anything to put over her nightgown. If that silky scrap of cloth can even be called one.

“I'm sure you have something I can borrow, don't you?”

Inara is leaning against the counter, looking perfectly at home and egregiously out of place at the same time. She's tough, like Serenity, and sometimes Kaylee forgets that. “ _Dahng ran_.”

Somehow, seeing Inara in a pair of pink coveralls is stranger than seeing her taking down Reavers with a bow and arrow. She ties back her hair and looks at Kaylee with a smile. “What now?”

“Right, here's the problem.” She's been doing her best to patch things up, but sometimes Serenity can only give so much without something giving out. It makes Kaylee feel embarrassed, like she's not paying close enough attention. “I told the captain I'd fix it as soon as I can, but there ain't always enough wiring to go around, so I figured I could take some out of the spare shuttle for now. River's been doing some work on it, too, and...”

Inara listens patiently even though she probably doesn't know the difference between an alternator and a catalyzer. Then she reaches toward the toolbox as elegantly as can be and says, “Show me.”

It's nice to have a spare set of hands, even though having Inara hovering around is almost too distracting for words. No one should be able to look like a princess when they're crunched up in the engine room like this. Kaylee's not sure what it would be like if she hadn't stayed, though. Having the crew two members short is awful enough and she doesn't know how to tell Inara how much it means that she'd rather be running around the 'verse with ruffians instead of being House Priestess. She talked to River about it once and River just said, in her own odd way, that sometimes being safe wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Kaylee's still not sure what she meant by that, but River's not usually wrong.

So there's Inara with a dark smudge on her cheek and a few curls coming loose around her ears, gilt-stitched slippers still on her feet because Kaylee's boots were too small for her. She's giggling. It's good to hear laughter again. Really good. She might not know a thing about mechanics, but she takes direction well and it's fun having someone to talk to besides Serenity.

“You feel that?” Kaylee asks after a spell.

Inara's eyes widen. “Is it—?”

“Air.” Kaylee grins as coolness wafts over her face. “ _Moving_ air. I think we're done here.”

They take turns sponging off in Inara's shuttle, then, and it's almost like old times when she lets Inara comb back her hair and bundle her into that soft bed that's so much nicer than her own. The rush of air through the vents gradually lowers the temperature as the two of them share a bottle of rice wine.

It's not a bad way to end the night, with her head propped up on pillows and her sluggish fingers on Inara's soft skin now that she's back in that filmy slip of a nightgown. Apparently she has a robe or two after all since Kaylee's wearing one of them, but Inara's still going without even though the shuttle's cool enough for Kaylee to see the way her nipples press against the cloth. They're both a little drunk and she's feeling a little devious, so she lets her fingertips graze there, then along the graceful curve of a collarbone and up the slope of her neck. “We missed you an awful lot. It's nice havin' you back.”

Inara says nothing in return, but she sets down her glass and draws Kaylee in close. Her eyes are closed and she's smiling like this is something new and special, not like it's something she's probably done hundreds of times in this very same bed.

That's something Kaylee's worried about now and then. Inara looks out for herself, looks out for her clients, but no one looks out for her. “Don't you ever want someone to take care of you? Not sayin' as you need anyone, but sometimes it's nice knowing you can.”

She pushes herself up on one elbow so she can get a good look at Inara's face, which is placid and calm and still unbelievably pretty even though she's scrubbed off her makeup. Inara just slips their hands together and urges her right back down. “There are too many opportunities in life. Wasting time on regret isn't how I want to spend mine.”

Kaylee's not sure how to answer that, but she likes the sound of it. “If the captain calls you names again, I'll cut the air flow to his bunk till he straightens up,” she states. It's the least she can do. “He needs to treat people right when they stand by him.”

Instead of telling her not to or laughing and sending her back to her bunk, Inara kisses her cheek and leans her head on Kaylee's shoulder. “Thank you.”


End file.
